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Operation Red Spearhead
In January 1048 due to Operation Venenum Capiens the Savorian Government was now aware that Kazarov was attempting to develop chemical weapons that were supposed to be used against Savoria. On the 2nd of Febuary 1048 it was decided that the SNA would launch a major offensive against the Kazarovian forces. The Operation would be named Red Spearhead and would start at the southern borders of Shiza attempting to push south into Kazarovian territory. Initial Plan Initially the offensive was supposed to begin by the end of Febuary. The 1st Army being stationed on Shizan territory was supposed to push south into Kazarovian territory while the 3rd Army was supposed to conduct a naval invasion on the eastern coasts of Kazarov. General Archibald Lercher who was put in charge of the operation however changed the plan since he believed that the Savorian Navy wouldn´t be able to provide the necessary protection in order to land ground troops without loosing the majority of them before they´re able to reach land. Instead both armies were now supposed to push south via Shiza. On the 26th of Febuary one day before the start of the Operation the Savorian Government ordered General Archibald Lercher to include the Savorian Strike and Defence Force in his operation plans. They also ordered to push the date of the attack further back the 16th of March 1048 so that more soldiers and equipment could be ready for the offensive. The SSDF formed Task Force Red in order to participate in the offensive. Even though Command Major Mika Silo who was still recovering from his injuries that he received during Operation Venenum Capiens was asking to be put in charge of the SSDF forces it was refused and the command was instead given to a Colonel from the SNA that was assigned by General Archibald Lercher. First Days During the early morning of the 16th of March 1048 the SNA and the SSDF forces began their attacks against the Kazarovian Forces. It was initially very succesful. The Kazarovians were unprepared and it was mainly reserve soldiers that received proper training but were lacking combat experience compared to the SNA and SSDF forces. During the 16th, 17th and 18th of March the Savorians were moving forward with facing barley any resistance. On the 19th of March however they suddenly encountered massive fortifications and casualties on that day were higher than on all of the 3 days before combined and the advance was stopped. Between the 20th and 23rd of March the Savorians were barely able to make any progress despite their best effort and were loosing a lot of men and equipment. The Kazarovians had build up their fortifications and excelled at putting their heavy equipment at the proper strategic positions. Especially in the central area of the offensive multiple SNA companies were destroyed within the matter of days. Morale suffered and General Archibald Lercher came under huge pressure. Malden Company got involved when they were pulled out of their vacation during the 23rd of March and attached to the SSDF Task Force Red. They were deployed on the field the next day replacing another SNA Company that lost most of their men in combat. Malden Company was able to advance quickly and gained a lot of ground clearing out multiple forifications. However they suffered a lot of casualties on the way. Especially CMAJ Mika Silo who was rejected to command them was upset at that the experienced SSDF forces are being used as frontline soldiers to replace the fallen SNA soldiers. He even traveled to the front line despite his injury and tried to convince the general to change his strategy. This escalated into an argument and the general ended up ordering the military police to bring Mika Silo back to Savoria no matter if he wants to or not. Malden Company wasn´t able to fullfil all of their objectives because of their very delayed transport to the front line. However they still have a good position to keep advancing and they might be able to break the deadlock of the past days. On the 26th of March there was another major attack including the involved elements of the SSDF. In the sector were Malden Company was deployed the assault was quite successful however on many other sectors the attacks came to a stop pretty quickly. On the sector of Malden Company the Kazarovian 4th Reserve Army attempted to push the SSDF back with a counterattack using heavy artillery barrages, gas and even utilizing Anti-Air guns against their infantry. The attack still couldn´t be stopped and the SSDF forces eventually capture and important communications facility. At the time the facility was utilized to treat wounded Kazarovian soldiers and there was only some combat in the surrounding forest. Inside the facility Malden Company was also able to find three arrested civilians which were suspected by the Kazarovians to collaborate with Savoria. Two of them were unimportant personalties and released by the Savorian forces soon. One of them Alfred Haybutch turned out to be the owner of an influential Kazarovian Company that made deals with the Kazarovian Government selling chemicals to them. Stalemate After the successful attack of the 26th of March 1048 there was no further progress made and any advance from either side came to a halt. On the 2nd of April 1048 the SSDF also partially withdrew from the operation leaving most of the burdens to the remaining SNA units. The reason was that the Shizan Autonomous Forces are attempting to cut off the supply lines that run through Shiza towards the Savorian lines in Kazarov. General Archibald Lercher ordered a new offensive to start on the 10th of April 1048. The offensive however had to be delayed since Operation Hot Sand didn´t conclude until the 14th of April 1048 and the supply lines running through Shiza were still at risk. On the 15th of April 1048 however the offensive started but very little progress was made while both sides were taking heavy casualities. The Operation ended on the 19th of April 1048 when both Savoria and Kazarov agreed on a ceasefire. Conclusion During Operation Red Spearhead it was shown that a full scale conflict between Kazarov and Savoria would mean a lot of damage to both nations regardless of who would win the war in the end. The capture of Alfred Haybutch also led to Savoria obtaining more information about Kazarovs chemical weapons production. Even though Savoria agreed to the ceasefire they have made it clear that a peace treaty was only possible of Kazarov would open up information about its chemical weapons program. The ceasefire was requested by Kazarov after the Government got under too huge pressure by the opposition and the nations political stability was at risk.